ODU comes short of bowl bid with loss to Middle Tennessee State

Mike Strasinger / AP

Old Dominion receiver Melvin Vaughn (9) is tripped up by Middle Tennessee defender Reed Blankenship (12) in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mike Strasinger)

Old Dominion receiver Melvin Vaughn (9) is tripped up by Middle Tennessee defender Reed Blankenship (12) in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mike Strasinger) (Mike Strasinger / AP)

Ed MillerThe Virginian-Pilot

The theme of the week was: no margin for error.

It had been the theme of the month for Old Dominion, a November in which the Monarchs had gone from a two-win squad to, improbably, a team playing for bowl eligibility on the final day of the regular season.

ODU arrived there by living on the edge, winning three games by seven points or less. But the fragility of it all came crashing home Saturday, in a season-ending 41-10 loss to Middle Tennessee.

No sweating out bowl scenarios for ODU (5-7, 3-5 Conference USA). Given the excess of teams relative to the number of games, the Monarchs might not have received a bid anyway.

The Blue Raiders (6-6, 4-4) ended any suspense early, jumping out to a 24-3 halftime lead and pouring it on from there.

"I'm really proud of the way we battled the last month," coach Bobby Wilder said. "We just didn't have it today."

Middle Tennesee Quarterback Brent Stockstill threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, and overcame two third-quarter interceptions ODU was unable to capitalize on. The Blue Raiders ran for 320 yards, for a total of 586.

ODU quarterback Steven Williams finished a promising freshman season on the sideline, after suffering an injury late in the first half. He also began the day there, after being disciplined for being late for a team meeting.

In between, Williams completed 10 of 13 passes for 83 yards. He had two passes dropped, and overthrew a deep ball.

When he was wobbly coming off the field late in the first half after taking a blow to the head, he was pulled from the game.

"We just didn't feel good about his safety," Wilder said. "It's unfortunate he didn't play in the second half. He was playing so well today."

So was the Blue Raider offense, and its junior quarterback, who riddled the Monarch secondary for 167 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.

The Monarchs deployed six defensive backs to try to slow Stockstill. But was locked in during the second quarter, leading the Blue Raiders to touchdowns on three straight drives.

Then Middle Tennessee's run game got going. Tailback Terelle West rushed for 170 yards.

ODU's offense produced 221 yards but just three points in the first half. A field goal attempt was blocked. And a late second-quarter drive stalled.

"We had a lot of plays, we had a lot of possessions, but our inability to score touchdowns in the red zone came back to haunt us,” Wilder said.

Said tailback Ray Lawry: "The focus was there, but we didn’t come out with the right energy."

Backup Blake LaRussa started for Williams and led the Monarchs 66 yards on the opening drive, which ended with a 26-yard field goal by Nick Rice. But ODU didn't score again until just 4:51 remained.

ODU managed just 10 yards in the third quarter, when it failed to capitalize on two Stockstill interceptions.

LaRussa completed just 5 of 14 passes for 37 yards on the day, but ran for 44 yards on five carries.

Back in September, he began the year as the starter. But Wilder turned to Williams, who was 17 at the time, in week three.

It was one of many twists in a challenging season filled with injuries. Receiver Jonathan Duhart was lost for the year in the second week. Lawry missed four games. After he returned, tailback Jeremy Cox was lost for the season, as was right tackle Chad Hendricks.

ODU was 2-6 at the end of October. The Monarchs embraced having their backs to the wall, and eked out wins over Charlotte, Florida International and Rice.

They saw no reason they couldn't make it four straight.

"I feel terrible for our seniors right now," said defensive tackle Miles Fox, a junior. "I wish we could have sent them to a bowl game their last year."